Latest Advocacy News
July 15 - Senate Appropriations Committee Action
The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up the F.Y. 2011 spending bill for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Two of the seven NIFA programs targeted by APLU for enhancement -- the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and Extension Services at the 1994 Land-Grant Institutions -- would receive increases under the Senate Committee's bill. [Read Full Report]
July 9 - McCarl Opines in Houston Chronicle
Dr. Bruce McCarl, a distinguished professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University and a Texas AgriLife Research Fellow, writes: To help American farmers cope with altered climate conditions, Congress needs to unfreeze the budget for agricultural research and extension programs. American agricultural know-how needs more funding to remain the world's most productive..." [Read Full Op Ed]
June 30 - Ag Appropriations Bill Marked Up
The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its
F.Y. 2011 bill today and all seven of the NIFA “budget lines targeted for enhancement” would receive increases compared to their F.Y. 2010 enacted levels. [Read Full Report]
June 30 - NIFA Director Urged to Boost Capacity
Budget and Advocacy Committee Chair Beverly Durgan (U. Minn.) and Vice Chair Frank Galey (U. Wyo.) have sent a letter to Dr. Roger Beachy, Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, urging him to open a dialogue about ways to "grow the capacity of the land-grant system..." [Read Letter]
June 21 - McLellan Laments LGU Funding Cuts
Mark R. McLellan, dean and director of Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida, writes in the Delta Farm Press that: "USDA’s research and education program receives only about $1 billion a year, a small share of total federal funding for research and development. Meanwhile, in their states, the land grant universities are on the budgetary chopping blocks. It’s time that the president and Congress provided the necessary resources through the annual appropriations process for the universities that are teaching the students and conducting the research to replenish the nation’s skills and know-how." [Read Full Op Ed]
May 27 - Woteki Hearing; Appropriations Update
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing this morning to consider the nomination of Dr. Catherine Woteki to be USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics and Chief Scientist. [Read Full Report]
May 25 - F.Y. 2011 Dear Colleague Letters Update
Three letters were circulated within the House and Senate in support of the land-grant system's F.Y. 2011 appropriations requests for NIFA. Here's a quick update: (1) 18 members of the House Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) signed a letter in support of 1890 land-grant university priorities; (2) 20 members of the Senate signed a letter in support of all seven of the BAC's F.Y. 2011 priorities; (3) 28 members of the House signed the letter in support of the BAC's seven priorities. [CBC Letter; Senate Letter; House Letter]
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